The Daily Astro for February 5, 2013

by Valerie Sylvester

 

TODAY’S ASTRO:

So I’m in midtown Manhattan this morning and I need a cab. It’s snowing, which usually means it will take forever to find one of those hurtling yellow objects, but today I nab one with very little effort. If you’ve ever tried to get a cab when it’s precipitating in NYC you will understand why this is amazing. (If not, believe me, it’s amazing.) I give the driver my destination, which is one of the main streets of the Financial District in Lower Manhattan. This results in some confusion and a barrage of comments from the driver. He doesn’t seem to know how to get there, and at first I think he’s talking to me, so I answer, but then he tells me he’s “talking to himself”. I’m not sure if by this he means that he’s talking on the phone to someone to determine how to get to my destination, or if he is actually talking to himself. I hope for the former but given my experience with New York cab drivers, the latter is certainly a possible option. The driver continues chatting for the rest of the trip.

As I get out of the cab (yes, he did figure out how to get where I needed to go), it hits me that Mercury moves into Pisces today (9:55 AM EST). Since it will be going retrograde, Mercury will be in Pisces for a while, so everyone will get to experience some form of my cab ride/Magical Mystery Tour from now until around mid-April. Mercury in Pisces is like my cab driver: there’s confusion, you go in the wrong direction, you might be talking to yourself or hearing voices, but then again you might also be receiving guidance from a higher source. In the end you arrive at your destination, but not without some weaving and wandering. This will only intensify when Mercury goes retrograde on February 23. Everyone will be “talking to themselves” and we may or may not understand the lingo. Obviously this can cause some confusion and we’ll probably think everyone else is nuttier than we are.  It’ll feel like those days when you walk down the street and everyone is yelling something, but you’re not sure if they’re on a cell phone or just unhinged.

Remember that when your mind is operating on Neptune (ruler of Pisces) time, everything looks different and you have to turn off the timer and ease into the vast watery depths where the landscape isn’t immediately familiar (maybe you’ve seen it in your dreams). Those who process in symbols and images will find the Pisces Barrage (Neptune, Mars and Chiron are also in Pisces) easier to navigate. Everybody else needs to go slow and use the high beams in order to figure out what’s coming towards you through the murk and mire!

The Moon remains in Sagittarius today, boosting our spirits and bestowing upon us an energetic “can-do” spirit and a desire to move forward with whatever quest we’re contemplating. Since the Moon is sextile the Sun in Aquarius, the sky’s the limit and we think we’re ready for take-off.  However, we have to make sure all systems are actually “go” as the Moon is void-of-course from 3:42 PM EST until 12:55 PM EST tomorrow. It’s not a great time to take too much on or depend on others to follow through on their enthusiasms, as there’s a “Lost in Space” feel today due to the combo of Mercury moving into Pisces and that void -of-course-moon period.

 

THE SYMBOLS:

Sabian Symbol for today’s Sun: “A watchdog standing guard.”
Kozminsky Symbol for today’s Sun: “ A crab on an inverted triangle, above which are two hands tugging at a laurel wreath.”
The Keyword for the Sabian Symbol is: “Probity”.
The Keyword for the Kozminsky Symbol is “Strife”.

Today’s Sabian Symbol relates to the need to protect and care for whatever is valued or deemed worthwhile. Since we’re reading this on the symbolic level, it refers to protecting that which needs guarding. In society this means taking care of those who cannot care for themselves or who need help. The themes of loyalty and fidelity are strong here, as is a commitment to justice and fairness. Protecting and caring for the weaker or more defenseless members of society falls very much into the Pisces realm of universal love and concern for the “underdog”. This Symbol also can relate to organizations, groups or governmental groups who assist the less fortunate.

Neptune and Chiron together in Pisces have been drawing our attention to suffering and the needs of others who are wounded or who have had to live through difficult situations. This Symbol also reminds us that something is “off” and there’s a need to be on guard. With Mercury entering Pisces, we need to not only listen to what is being said or communicated, we also need to pick up on what is NOT said and set our radar to pick up on deceptive or misleading information. Things may not be what they seem to be. We may have to defend ourselves. There’s also a need to strive for balance–being appropriately wary is good, falling into a paranoid state and thinking everyone is “out to get us” or wants take something from us is the flip side of this “guard dog” mode.

The Kozminsky Symbol could be titled “SuperCrab”. Maybe it’s a superhero for Cancerians? In any case, it’s an image of tenacity, of hanging on and never letting go/giving up. Our crab friend has had a tough time of it, but will never stop striving, and the laurel wreath above implies that there will be rewards for all the effort expended. The laurel wreath shows the ultimate victory achieved through sticking with your plans. Kozminsky associates this Symbol with the Moon, ruler of Cancer, a water sign, which ties in nicely with all the planets currently in the water sign of Pisces. Here’s the  underdog with heart, who keeps going and wins the prize in spite of the odds against him/her.

 

THE DAILY DRAW:

9 of Cups / 10 of Wands

This is the classic “watch what you wish for” combination. The 9 of Cups with the 10 of Wands is a “larger than life”combination. There’s big rewards, and a great deal of satisfaction accrues in the beginning, but after that we may realize that the tariff on pleasures is too high. It could be we’ve taken on too many tasks, or that we’ve taken on the emotional burden of those close to us, but there’s a feeling that maybe we need to reassess our basic philosophy. How did we get ourselves into this (often self-imposed) situation?   It’s the old story of being trapped by what you were trying to catch. We may think that if more is good, too much has to be better, but not everything is more fun when it’s supersized!

One of the keywords for the 10 of Wands is “strife”, which echoes back to today’s Kozminsky Symbol. We may feel like we’re barely hanging on. Maybe we need to give up something in order to feel whole again. We’ve lost sight of what originally gave us pleasure; we’ve burned out. It’s time to go back to our original desire–what were we really after at the start of this journey? Have we been avoiding or blocking emotions or evading joy through overwork or taking on other people’s responsibilities? It’s a good time to look at setting up boundaries. Release yourself from taking on too much from a sense of guilt and taking on other people’s tasks because they’re too self-indulgent  discipline themselves to do them properly. Not everything is your responsibility.

–February 5, 2013